Patriarca



Feb. 21. 1956 Filed NOV. 16, 1951 D. PATRIARCA SELF-SERVER DISPLAYCABINET 2 Shee ts-Sheet l INVENTOR. fl m c ATTORNEY Feb. 21, 1956 FiledNov. 16, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR- ATTORNEY United States Patent2,735,739 SELF-SERVER DISPLAY CABINET Domenico Patriarca, Cranston, R.I. Application November- 16, 1951, Serial No. 256,785 4 Claims. (Cl.312-31) The present inventionrelates to the construction of displaycabinets, and has particular reference to a novel arrangement for aself-server cigar dispensing cabinet.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a self-server cigardisplay cabinet which gives prospective purchasers an unobstructed viewof the cigars on display within the cabinet.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for keeping thecigars displayed within the case in an atmosphere of constant prescribedhumidity.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a narrow framearound the front of the display cabinet.

A further object of the invention is to provide the narrow frame with anon-metallic top rail having a-metal T beam which receives sliding plateglass panels and also functions as a reinforcing cross beam.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a self-serverdisplay cabinet which is constructed ,to seal the front display portionwhen the glass panels are closed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a special handle for theplate glass panels for facilitating opening and closing of the panelsand for insuring sealing of the display case to maintain a constanthumidifying atmosphere.

An additional object of "the invention is to provide the end rail of thenarrowframe with resilient strips to insure sealing of the self-serverdisplay cabinet when. the plate glass panels are in a closed position.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, theinvention consists of novel features of construction and novelcombinations of parts more fully disclosed in'th'e detailed descriptionfollowing, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and morespecifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative display cabinet, showingthe front thereof;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rear of the'display cabinet, thedoors being open to disclose the humidifying unit;

Fig. 3 isa cross section on the line '33 of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 55 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of metal handle for theplate glass panels.

It has been found desirable to provide a special construction for adisplay case for cigars and the like, which maintains the cigars inproper condition for smoking, which is so arranged that the cigars areattractively displayed, and which is so designed that a purchaser canserve himself after being attracted by the display.

To this end, I provide a cabinet which is substantially completely opento view from the front, and which has a series of ladder step shelves sopositioned that a large number of boxes of cigars are attractivelydisplayed in rearwardly ascending relation. The rear of the cabinet ishollow for storing additional boxes of cigars and for housing ahumidifying unit which is set to maintain a desired humidity in thecabinet, the rear being accessible through sliding doors or the like.

The cabinet front includes a narrow frame, preferably made of wood,which has a lower rail with ball bearing strips whereby the interior ofthe cabinet is readily kept humidified as hereinafter explained.

Since the purpose of the construction is to permit a purchaser to servehimself, the glass panels are equipped with special handle bars ofnarrow width, which do not protrude into the display space-and are sopositioned that they may be grasped for opening movement at any pointclosing pressures along the entire panel length.

Referring to the drawings, the self-server cigar display cabinet 10includes a front display section 1'1 and a rear storage section 12separated from the front section by a step back perforated ladderpartition screen 13. The rear storage section 12 has a humidifying unit14 which is regulated in standard manner to create a prescribeddesirable humid atmosphere within the display case, the perforatedpartition allowing free circulation of this humidified atmospherebetween the front display section and the rear storage section. Accessto the rear storage section is gained through the back 15, which hasmovable sliding doors 16 and 17. Access to the front storage section isgained through the front 18 which has movable sliding panels 19 and 19amade of plate glass or other transparent material. The display sectionfront includes a frame 20 having a top rail 21, a' bottom rail' 22, andtwo side rails 23 and 24, the rails being of special construction asexplained below.

The top rail 21 is of narrow construction in order .to provide a clearunobstructed view into the display section of the cabinet. It has alongitudinal T-shaped slot 25 as shown in Fig. 3 having an upperportion'26 and a wide lower portion 27. A T-shaped metal reinforcing'beam ZS is slidably mounted within the slot 25 to reinforce thenon-metallic rail 21 the depending portion 29 of the beam 28 formingadjacent smooth unobstructed runways 3t) and 31 with the sides of thelower slot portion27, in which the plate glass panels 19 and 19aslidably move. The bottom rail 22 has a longitudinal slot132 asshown inFig. 4 which has a central longitudinal strip 33 forming adjacentrunways 34 and 35 in which the plate glass panels areslidably movable onball bcaringstrips 36 positioned in the runways 34, 35. The sealing ends:37 and 38 of the plate glass panels 19 and 19a each havea metalhand-bar 39which is shaped as shown in Fig. 5 to encase the end of theplate glass panel, including a forward U-shaped portion 40 which seatsover and is cemented to the end of the plate glass panel. The metal handbar 39 extends for the length of the plate glass panel, and has a fingergrasping portion 41 which is upstanding as shown in Fig. 5, or which maybe of arcuate form as shown at 42 in Fig. 6. The side rails 23 and 24each have a longitudinal U slot 43 in which a strip of resilientmaterial 44 is fastened or secured; see Fig. 5, the strip extending thelength of the rail. The resilient strips 44 cooperate with the U-shapedportions at the ends of the plate glass panels to seal the opening whenthe panels are in a closed position.

It is now clear that applicants construction provides a self-serverdisplay cabinet which has an unobstructed view of the display cigars andthe like, and operates to seal within the display cabinet an atmospherewhich has a constant prescribed desirable humidity. The metalreinforcing T beam mounted within the non-metal top rail makes possiblea narrow frame for the glass plate panels and completely eliminates theemployment of screws, bolts or other securing means within the top rail.This construction provides adjacent top rail runways which are smoothand without obstruction. The metal reinforcing T beam also keeps theframe in continuous alignment so that the panels slide freely withintheir runways and close tightly against the sealing strips of the siderails. The metal construction of the handles makes possible easiergripping to move the plate glass panels and also functions to seat thepanels snugly against the resilient side strips whereby sealing of thehumidified atmosphere is further insured. The whole construction thusprovides a self-server combination which has a substantial completelyopen front framed by narrow rails rigidly held in place, the panelsbeing readily opened by pressing anywhere along the hand bar, the partscooperating to preserve the humidified atmosphere,

Although I have described a specific constructional embodiment of myinvention using a wood frame and metal handle bars for the glass panels,it is clear that plastic having the requisite strength may be used forthe cabinet parts, and that changes in the size, shape, arrangement andmaterial of the parts may be made to suit different displayrequirements, without departing from the spirit and the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a display and sales store cabinet for self--service, the cabinethaving a base, side walls, a rear wall, a top, a lower front wall, andan upper front opening inclined forwardly from the top to the lowerfront wall, a frame around the upper front opening including a top rail,a bottom rail, and side rails, the top rail having a longitudinalT-shaped slot, a T-shaped metal beam in said slot having a dependingportion intermediate the sides of the vertical portion of the T-shapedslot, the cross bar of the T-shaped beam resting in and being supportedby the cross bar portion of the T slot and providing front and rearspaced runways therewith, the bottom rail having a longitudinal slot, acentral longitudinal strip in said bottom rail slot spaced from thesides thereof and providing spaced runways therewith, ball races in saidbottom rail front and rear runways, said side rails having longitudinalslots adapted to seat receive the sides of the panels, and transparentpanels respectively mounted in the front and the rear top and bottomrail runways.

2. In a display and sales store cabinet for self-service, the cabinethaving a base, side walls, a rear wall, a top, a lower front wall, andan upper front opening inclined forwardly from the top to the lowerfront wall, a frame around the upper front opening including a top rail,a bottom rail, and side rails, the top rail having a longitudinalT-shaped slot, a T-shaped metal beam in said slot having a dependingportion intermediate the sides of the vertical portion of the T-shapedslot, the cross bar of the T-shaped beam resting in and being supportedby the cross bar portion of the T slot and providing front and rearspaced runways therewith, the bottom rail having a longitudinal slot, acentral longitudinal strip in said bottom rail slot spaced from thesides thereof and providing spaced runways therewith, ball races in saidbottom rail front and rear runways, said side rails having longitudinalslots adapted to seat receive the sides of the panels and transparentpanels respectively mounted in the front and the rear top and bottomrail runways, each panel having a metal handle mounted on its outer end,each handle being substantially the height of the panel.

3. A display and sales cabinet for cigars, including a base, side walls,a rear wall, a top, a lower front wall and an upper front opening, saidupper front opening inclining forwardly from the top to the lower frontwall and said lower front wall inclining rearwardly from the upper frontopening, said upper front opening having a top rail, a bottom rail, andside rails, the top and bottom rails having longitudinal front and rearspaced runways, and the side rails having longitudinal grooves providedwith sealing strips, transparent panels slidably mounted in said runwaysand adapted to seal seat in said side rail grooves, a step backperforated step partition in said cabinet extending rearwardly andupwardly from the top of the lower front wall to the top of the rearwall, a humidifier positioned behind the perforated step partition,means for mounting said humidifier in elevated relation with respect tosaid base whereby to afford better circulation of the humidifiedatmosphere through the step partition.

4. A display and sales cabinet as set forth in claim 3 furthercharacterized in that the rear wall has an upper portion comprising therear step of the partition and a lower portion comprising a slidableclosure for permitting access to the humidifier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS542,475 Hoare July 9, 1895 635,191 Sanger Oct. 17, 1899 984,006 KadeFeb. 14, 1911 1,106,543 Burnham et a1 Aug. 11, 1914 1,452,242 JensenApr. 17, 1923 1,721,132 Orthwine July 16, 1929 1,782,819 Hansen Nov. 25,1930 1,934,834 Voigt Nov. 14, 1933 2,067,118 Case Ian. 5, 1937 2,118,213Malott May 24, 1938 2,303,098 Waldo Nov. 24, 1942 2,430,124 Johnson Nov.4, 1947 2,432,736 Elkins Dec. 16, 1947 2,503,419 Secunde Apr. 11, 19502,544,975 Berger Mar. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 459,257 Italy Sept. 1,1950 525,916 Great Britain Sept. 6, 1940

